Barge Concepts RC-1 Compressor

If you know how to use a compressor, you'll be able to use this thing to great effect in a matter of seconds. No manual, but apparently an online one is in the pipeline.

A lot of people reading this will want to know how it compares to the original grey Ross compressor or any of the current boutique 'clones' available (at no small cost, I might add!). My personal contribution to this debate is: "don't know, don't care".
The only compressors I can compare it to directly are a friend's Boss CS3 and the compressor on a Visual Sound Route 66 (apparently also based on the Ross). It is FAR superior to both. There is far less noise at maximum sustain levels and only the slightest loss of top-end. In my experience all analogue compressors cut top-end and add noise with higher compression ratios, and the ones that aim to counter that with a tone knob generally just make your tone even worse.

This is how all pedals should be built - solid but compact metal box, sturdy knobs, and a decent switch.

What can I say? - the BEST customer service anywhere. The guys at Barge love their products and love their customers.

I suspect that the RC1 is one of the best compact analogue compressor available. It's certainly tremendous value.
I use it primarily for Andy Summers, Larry Carlton and Dave Gilmour type sounds, as well as with my Jazz Bass.
People spending silly money on other boutique units need to wise up, and those companies charging silly prices because they happened to be the first with the whole clone/mod thing need to come down from their high horses or else, companies like Barge will pull the rugs from under them. If you're looking for a classic DynaComp/Ross sound, you need to seriously consider one of these.

Very easy to get a good sound, it has a Volume, Decay Time (Attack), and Sustain. I pulled up a very good sound within seconds of hooking it up. It's set up pretty much like the Analogman, or Keeley and sounds like them, but with less noise, and less high end cut. So it retains the high end. I set the attack to all the way clockwise to get a very trasparent compression.

Like I said it sounds freakin awesome, and I am using it with all my lead passages, it makes my guitar sustain very naturally. It's also alot quieter than the Keeley, I had four different Keeley compressor,(2 two knob versions, and 2 four knob version) and they were just way to noisy, and they cut the high end. Well the Barge Concept RC-1 has the good tone of the Keeley and Analogman, but doesn't cut the high end, and isn't nearly as noisy. Actually there is no compairison. My setup is Guitar, Strobostomp, Vox Wah, Diamond Compressor,Voodoo Microvibe, Boss GE-7 Sniper mode, Barge Concept RC-1, Paul Cochrane's TIMMY , Pedalworx Cactus Crunch, Marshall JMP 100 watt. And sometimes I add the RC and BB Boosters to the setup, and some other pedals. But this is my stipped down setup, and the RC-1 is a keeper, and it plays well with others. This pedal gets used more than some of the others. I also had a deep toggle switch added to make it sound more natural with Bass Guitar, or high output pickups. And I leave it in that position all the time.

Built like a tank, with true bypass, and inside is a work of art, and they use a four layered curcuit board, which is why it's so quiet.. I will doc a point for the fact that the black faceplat is a sticker not screenprinted, or painted. They need to start painting these boxes. IMO..

I sent a couple emails back and forth with the owner, and he is the one that gave me the idea of the toggle deep switch. He was very nice and polite, and answered all my question very fast.

Overall I I've been through all the Ross Clones, and this one has been the best sounding, and quietest one I have come accross. And it is cheaper than the other ones. I've been playing for year, and now play professionally. If this were stollen I would defenitly buy another one, because I've been looking for years, for this pedal and I will never let it go. I don't want to compaire it to the Keeley, because it sounds so much better, so I will say it's in a class in it's own.

Straight forward layout of controls, clearly labeled. DECAY SPEED control is notched, making it easy to quickly change settings when I change guitars in the middle of a gig. The other controls are for Volume and Sustain, just like on most other compressors.

My rig >
SG Junior (wired like an esquire with a Lollar p-90, 5% underwound) or USACG Baritone Tele > Barge Concepts BB-Jr > Boss Blues Driver > Barge Concepts RC-1 > E13 TBD (Lovetone Meatball, Alesis Akira, 4ms Atoner, and Ibanez AD-80, modded by DeathByAudio, in loop) > Bepeco Volume pedal > two Line6 DL4's (with expression pedals) > Orange Rocker 30 in stereo with a Fender Blues Jr (tweed, with Bill M mods).

Sounds IDENTICAL to my Keeley Compressor, with less noise than it or either of my grey Ross compressors (I'm a bit of a compression slut :). Clean, transparent compression. I'm running it after my dirt boxes for extra sustain and for when I want long signing lines without relying on my ebow. My SG is wired up like an Esquire; with the SG in the forward switch position, the compressor helps restore some of those highs lost in that traditionally dark Esquire position. The resulting sound is almost like having an extra pickup on a single pickup instrument. When A/Bing it against my Keeley, I discovered I actually like the sound of cascading compressors. Set one for a clean boost, the other for LONG sustain; switching between the two gives me access to my two favorite compressor settings, and the two in series gets a big crunch on chords and fat lead lines. When I sell the Keeley, I'm thinking about purchasing another RC-1 to experiement with this further. The center knob, DECAY SPEED, works exactly like the Attack control on my Keeley. I need different Attack/decay times to compensate for the pickup differences in my two guitars, and with the Keeley this was always a serious hassle. I'd either have to take the Keeley apart to change the Attack time between sets, or just live with one setting and not be entirely satisfied. Now I can use the Decay control on the RC-1, and easily change the attack to handle the different instruments.

Only gets a 9 because it can introduce some noise at maximum compression settings, like nearly all compressors. But the added sustain is worth it, and it's not noticeable when playing, only at idle.

I've only had it a relatively short time, but it's already survived two sweaty gigs and a number of band practices. My only qualm is the vinyl label. Even though my painted pedals always chip and I've got two other pedals with this sort of label, I'm often worried that i'm going to rip or damage the label. Then again, I've never had one rip, and my painted pedals always look like they've been pulled out of the dumpster. Construction on the RC-1 looks to be top-notch. Knobs turn easily, but are tight on the shaft; no worry for breaking them or knocking them loose. Switch is solid and performs as it should. Black and silver motif looks cool under the stage lights. Even though I'm hard on my gear and with my paranoia about the label, i've still got no problems gigging without a back up.

A+. Fast, free shipping. I thought it would take a week or more for this to get to me, but it arrived on my door step 2 days after payment. The guys and gal of Barge Concepts have always answered my seemingly endless questions quickly, concisely, and completely. When I had more questions, they gave me the office number and Geoff was willing to further answer my questions and talk gear and music for well over half an hour. If you sign up for their mailing list, they are always offering sales and special pricing on gear. They get a 10 on customer support, but these guys go to 11.

This is my second Barge Concepts pedal. Both of them are incredible at any price, but an absolutely steal for the minimal asking price (and an even better deal if purchased through one of the mailing list sales). If it was stolen or lost, I'd replace it immediately. I've always liked playing with compression as an effect, and I've finally got a compressor that I'm happy with; like I said, I'm thinking of buying a second. The RC-1 has the compression sound and feel that I want (and admittedly had with the Keeley), but with greater versatility at a lower cost. Great score all around.